SANTA CLARITA — Golden Valley junior linebacker Zane Crosby eyed the running back across from him on a fourth-and-2 from the Grizzlies’ 12-yard-line early in the first quarter
He burst through the line, took two more steps and pounced, getting a tackle for loss, forcing a turnover on downs and stopping Crescenta Valley’s (1-1) early momentum in what proved to be a hard-fought 21-7 victory for Golden Valley (2-1) on Friday night.
“I definitely get happy. I definitely get fired up,” said Crosby with a laugh about his early stop, one of many plays the Golden Valley defense made throughout the night.
The unit forced three turnovers against Crescenta Valley’s run-heavy offense, and they headed into halftime with a 6-0 lead.
The Grizzlies’ lone score came with 8:40 left in the first quarter when junior quarterback Jaxon Ray found Andrew Markovich for a 14-yard touchdown, but even though Golden Valley’s offense remained somewhat dormant for most of the first half, they were dominating the game at the line of scrimmage and it felt like they would take control in the second half.
“Offense, please score!” senior linebacker Andrew Sayadian exclaimed to his teammates on the other side of the ball after the Grizzlies’ defense forced another Crescenta Valley punt in the third quarter. That plea encapsulated both the defense’s success on the night and also showed possible desperation as Golden Valley aimed to hold onto a slim lead.
And after Falcons’ senior quarterback Julian Savery connected with Nathan Karsten on a screen pass for an 18-yard touchdown and followed it up with an interception from cornerback Caiden Hanson on Golden Valley’s ensuing drive midway through the third quarter, Crescenta Valley suddenly had a 7-6 lead, possession, and it seemed like they had fully turned the corner.
The score remained 7-6 late in the third and Golden Valley was set to get the ball back with about two minutes remaining in the period when Aaron McCormick muffed a punt and Crescenta Valley jumped on the ball at Crescenta Valley’s 29-yard-line.
One play later, Kayden McIntyre came up with an interception in the end zone for Golden Valley, again shifting the momentum in a game where head coach Dan Kelley praised his unit.
“Defense wins ballgames, offense scores points, our defense won the ballgame tonight,” he said.
Golden Valley’s offense got in gear in the fourth quarter as Ray scored on a quarterback sneak to give Golden Valley a 14-7 lead with 3:39 remaining, capping off an 87-yard drive that took seven and a half minutes off the clock. McCormick iced the win with a 2-yard touchdown run of his own with under a minute left to finish off a tough win for the Grizzlies, but one in which Crosby and the defense earned their coach’s plaudits.
“Zane is a big-time player for us. He’s got good speed and he knows how to get to the football, … and for him to do what he did on defense, he’s a special player.”
The veteran coach praised his staff, as well, saying, “Coach [Michael] Carr, our defensive coordinator, had everybody in the right spot.”
“The offense put ‘em in some bad spots, but they were able to hold ‘em, so it’s definitely a victory for the defense,” he said.
Crosby put his mentality simply when talking about his stop in the first quarter and the plays that followed throughout the game.
“Next play, you know?”